Really cool seeing the mist come off the lake. Kind of funny though because it obscured the buoys until the sun went behind a cloud. You could then hear a groan from everyone when they saw the first turning point.

Wave started with no incident, swam by the guys who were wading too long. I tried to draft behind someone for a while, but I wasn't really getting the hang of that and gave up on that effort. Then at the first turn I suddenly got a mouthful of water. I don't know how it happened, but I had to stop and do a breaststroke for a little while to get my breath back.

Got going again, but it seemed that every time I felt like I got in a good groove I crashed into someone. Each time I stopped for a second before going again, so I definitely need to work on swimming in groups.

Had a good line the whole time and hit all the buoys tight, so I was happy with that. By about the last 1/3 finally had no trouble with anyone around me, so finished pretty decent.

Swam by the guys who stood up too early. But when I touched, I stood up and did a sprint all the way up the hill into T1. I'm sure I looked funny, because I was picking my knees way up coming out of the water, but everyone else was just trotting, and I wanted to get some clothes on!

Overall very average swim - I guess exactly average 135 out of 270! :)

40-44 rank - 12/27

Probably wear a wetsuit. I figured the water would be warm so I wouldn't need one, but I definitely felt cold throughout the swim.

Not eat that bagel! Between that and the breathing, my gut felt so stuffed, and I was very uncomfortable, but couldn't get any belches out!

Had a nice run coming in and saw that a few bikes were gone or going, but didn't worry about that. My main concern was to be sure I dressed warm for the bike. Pulled my jersey on, and a windproof jacket over that. Dan gave me the tip to not bother drying off, plus staying wet under the jacket would help me warm up.

Of course when I grabbed my jacket off the bike, I promptly sent my helmet and glasses flying! :O So I had to crawl under the rack to pick those up.

Just work on overall speed. Today's time was average, but that's compared to others who were stripping their wetsuits off.

Got going pretty decent out of T1. Picked off a few mountain bikes within a couple miles, then never saw any others. Played lots of cat and mouse with the road bikes. This was a hilly course which was good for me. I usually went by anybody near me going up, but on the flats they would go by me again!

I finally got my belches out at exactly 1.67 miles. Funny what you take note of sometimes, isn't it? But was still feeling lousy for most of the bike and didn't really have a good ride.

The longest downhill was wasted by a right hand uphill turn at the bottom. I drove the course the night before so I expected it and had my bike in gear ready to make the turn. Just towards the bottom a guy squeezed by my right to pass me - I thought he was nuts, so I just yelled out to him about the hard right coming up.

Sure enough, went by a bunch of people at that turn. All I heard was click, click, click, click.... And also saw a guy with his bike upside down trying to get his chain back on. That turn was really my only proud or happy moment on the bike.

Made sure I enjoyed the scenery as I went by the lakes.

Finally my stomach came around and I started to feel good. My legs were now warm and I was ready to go! Too bad this was after 11 miles with only 1 1/2 to go! :(

40-44 rank - 14/27

Not eat that bagel!

Get a road bike? My time on the mtb was right in the middle of the pack for all bikes.

Got annoyed coming into T2. I got caught behind two guys who weren't interested in going very quickly. Once through the gate though, I got by them and ran as hard as I could.

It definitely wasn't lost on me that the mtb racks were empty! Once I saw the rack situation, I moved through here quick, and got up to running pace while I was still in T2. I noticed the next one coming in shortly before I headed out, but didn't see his number.

More practice. Especially running with my bike shoes. I thought I was going to slip and fall over at one point.

Came out of T2 at about a 6:45 pace. I've gotten used to the fact that I come off the bike running faster than I should, so I didn't panic. I eased into a comfortable pace by about 1/4 mile. Saw a mtb bike guy about a minute after the first turnaround, so I figured I had a comfortable 2 min lead. Finished up the 1st mile at 7:24.

2nd mile was over 8:20. I was surprised that I dropped off that much, but nobody was passing me either. Then I saw the best thing after the 2nd turn around - it was all a downhill slope in front of me! Now I knew why I slowed down during that last mile as I came up it. So it was time to turn it on.

Saw the mtb guy again and I think I was a little further in front, so I was happy about that. Did the 3rd mile in 7:24 again. As I saw the finish, I picked it up to probably the fastest I could go at that point and finished up that last bit at a 6:10 pace.

Sure enough at the finish they told me I was first for mountain bikes and I got my medal! Definitely happy about that! :) Especially since I was feeling pretty bad for most of the race.

40-44 rank - 10/27

Quit worrying about the people around me and just run my own race!

As I was grabbing some food, saw the mtb guy get his medal - but it was for 3rd! :O So there was someone closer to me that whole time and I didn't realize it!

Other than try to get some food down, just stood around trying to stay warm. Eventually went back to get my stuff with my daughters in tow!

That's where I ran into the 2nd place finisher. We talked a bit about my Yankz laces and the day. Well don't you know, you can read his race report here also! (ezfast88) I had no idea until I read it a little while ago - so BT had a 1-2 finish in the MTB division! :)


More training. Lingering stomach effects were probably still working on me as well.


Police were excellent keeping cars back. Lots of volunteers as well. Overall a good race, but agree that it probably shouldn't be called a festival since there was nothing else there.